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State lacrosse: St. Andrew's, Benjamin boys set for all-Palm Beach County state final

emilee smarr, palm beach post
·4 min read

NAPLES — Defending champion St. Andrew's and Benjamin kept their postseason streaks alive on the first day of the Class 1A state tournament in Naples for a pair of familiar faces to meet in an unfamiliar place.

No two teams from the same county have competed in the trophy matchup since lacrosse was adopted by the FHSAA in 2008.

That changes with Palm Beach County, as the Scots and the Bucs prepare to duke it Saturday out for statewide and, more importantly, local bragging rights.

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Catch recaps of the squads' state semifinal wins below.

Schulte shuts it down early for Scots

An 11-3 win for the Scots over Jesuit of Tampa was sparked by a momentum-shifting interception from senior midfielder Sean Jordan. Following the Harvard commit's scoop, the remaining 10 minutes of the first quarter against four-seed Jesuit turned into a scoring derby, capped with a goal from junior Jack Schulte.

On a roll, Schulte started scoring in the second with a pair of goals, going back-to-back-to-back for a hat trick at the 4:23 mark, bringing St. Andrew's lead to 6-0.

One more successful sling from senior Kurt Schwarz ended the first half's offensive performance and signaled the senior's takeover as lead scorer, splitting a game-high three goals with Schulte.

St. Andrew’s took on Jesuit High School of Tampa in the Boys 1A state semifinal Thursday at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples.
St. Andrew’s took on Jesuit High School of Tampa in the Boys 1A state semifinal Thursday at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples.

"I didn't really know we could get any better than we were last year," Schwarz said.

"We've been grinding harder than any other team out here. All we need to do is get out hot and we knew the heat would tear this other team down by the end of the game," Schulte said. "We had it in the bag by the third quarter."

Schulte said that the regional final scare from Oxbridge was the "wake-up call" St. Andrew's needed heading into the state tourney, having taken it "too easy" in recent weeks.

St. Andrew’s took on Jesuit High School of Tampa Thursday in the Boys 1A state semifinals at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples.
St. Andrew’s took on Jesuit High School of Tampa Thursday in the Boys 1A state semifinals at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples.

Knowing anything can happen, especially in the game of lacrosse, St. Andrew's anticipated Jesuit's best, but was locked in and looking for Benjamin in the final two from the time it stepped off the bus.

"We're playing against all our buddies. All my best friends are across the field, it's great," Schulte said.

Freshmen forward Bucs to final two

"Friends" the Scots will be seeing include senior Jack Regnery, Benjamin's top scorer with a hat trick versus three-seed Bolles, junior Brady Quinn, and members of the Class of 2025 like Caden Hayes, Ford Cash and Sean Sheehan.

One would imagine that having four starting freshmen — on top of a broken-down bus to derail the trip to Southwest Florida the morning of the state semi — there may be some jitters in the thick of competition. Not with Dylan Furshman as your faceoff guy.

Benjamin High School Jack Regnery (12) works his way closer to the goal with a Bolles High School defender on his back Thursday during the Boys 2A state semifinals at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples.
Benjamin High School Jack Regnery (12) works his way closer to the goal with a Bolles High School defender on his back Thursday during the Boys 2A state semifinals at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples.

"I never really doubted our team at all. I just wanted to do it for all my seniors. It's really the last ride for them so it's huge to get them to state," Furshman said, shouting out the class of 16. "I thought we were going to go out there and do exactly what we just did."

The freshman's goal, scored just six seconds into the first quarter, served as the catalyst in the Bucs' team effort en route to the 13-5 victory, ultimately propelling Benjamin to its second appearance in the final two since 2014.

While comparing a regular season game to the potential outcome of a playoff matchup is equivalent to that of apples and oranges, if the 10-3 season opener loss was any inclination of Saturday's looming result, Benjamin is better prepared now for the tough task ahead in the final.

Furshman is prepared to make foes out of friends, saying he has "big rivalries" with the face off team at St. Andrew's, adding they've "been talking trash together for years" and teasing a "fun" final between Palm Beach's premier private programs.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: St. Andrew's, Benjamin boys laxrosse set for all-Palm Beach County state final